Latest news with #PaulMitchell
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Inside Newcastle live Q&A: Chris Waugh answers your questions
After another whirlwind week at Newcastle United. Alexander Isak's future remains headline news and Hugo Ekitike appears Liverpool-bound — representing further transfer frustration at St James' Park. Anthony Elanga was an exciting first signing of the summer from Nottingham Forest, but Bryan Mbeumo, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Dean Huijsen and now Ekitike have headed (or are heading) elsewhere. Newcastle's ambitious transfer strategy has brought with it much disappointment in terms of targets ending up at other clubs and, when their lack of a senior executive team is taken into account, it feels like it has been another summer of flux on Tyneside. Paul Mitchell departed as sporting director on June 30 and Darren Eales, the CEO, has been working his notice period having announced a blood-cancer diagnosis last year. So just what is going on? Is another transfer breakthrough close? Where will Newcastle turn after Ekitike? And is the appointment of a new chief executive and/or sporting director imminent? Post your questions below and our Newcastle writer Chris Waugh will endeavour to answer as many as possible between 1pm and 2pm BST (8am and 9am ET). Chris Waugh July 18, 2025 6:30 am EDT
BBC News
07-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Huddersfield 7/7 survivor was 'in right place at the wrong time'
A survivor of the 7/7 London bombings whose actions helped save other passengers says she believes she was in the "right place at the wrong time".Julie Imrie was on her Piccadilly line commute to work 20 years ago when a series of bombs were detonated on London's public transport system, killing 52 people and injuring hundreds aged 22, it was Ms Imrie's actions that were credited with saving the life of fellow passenger Paul Mitchell after she tied a tourniquet around his damaged about the horror, Ms Imrie, from Huddersfield, said: "In that moment when I realised I was still alive, I was like this is survival mode, you need to help people." Ms Imrie had been sitting in the front carriage of the packed train between King's Cross and Russell Square when Germaine Lindsay - one of the four suicide bombers responsible for the attacks - detonated his bomb just after it pulled out of King's Cross recalled being "blasted backwards" and thinking: "I am having a nightmare, this is not real".She said: "I opened my eyes and it wasn't a nightmare."I turned to my right to look at where this sound had come from and I saw this huge fireball coming towards me and I remember looking at it and then turning away. "I remember thinking I am going to die, I'm going to be with my grandma and grandad, and that was the last thought that I had." Afterwards, Ms Imrie described how the carriage was "plunged into darkness" and "the moans and really quiet noises started at first and then grew louder".She said: "People were very seriously injured. They were in so much pain, people were screaming for help."At this point, Ms Imrie realised her legs were entwined with a man who was sitting directly in front of her."We started speaking and said hello and introduced ourselves and he said his name was Paul Mitchell."We just started talking and it became clear that his leg was very seriously injured and he was losing a lot of blood." Using her coat, Ms Imrie tied a tourniquet around his leg with other passengers passing down different items to help stem the flow of blood."At this point I tried to reassure people as well and say look, everything is going to be OK, something has happened but we are going to be OK, help will be on its way," she said. After about 45 minutes of being trapped, they were rescued by emergency services. Ms Imrie recalled walking out of the wreckage barefoot and holding the hand of fellow survivor Matthew the following days, she and Mr Mitchell managed to reconnect, leading to a lasting friendship borne out of tragedy."We saved his leg and ultimately his life and he always thanks me every 7 July."She added: "I remember when he got in touch to tell me he was going to be a dad and how emotional and pleased I was for him and to know I was able to make that difference." After the attacks, Ms Imrie, who had moved to London the previous year, no longer felt safe and returned to Huddersfield - ironically the same hometown of the 19-year-old bomber who blew up her is a shared link that Ms Imrie has struggled with especially since she now works in a school near to one which Lindsay attended."I work with staff who taught him and who knew him, so that's a constant reminder about what happened."Ms Imrie said she was "proud" and "so glad" she was able to help on 7 July 2005. "I really firmly believe on that day I was in the right place at the wrong time and I was able to do what perhaps other people may not have been able to do, which is completely understandable."She added: "Having those close to me around me at this time of year means the world."I'm in such a lucky position to have that. So many people who went through 7 July, the victims and their families, don't have that so I really appreciate this second chance of life." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Why do Newcastle keep missing out on transfer targets?
The repeat narrative is becoming tiresome and concerning for supporters. 'Newcastle United have missed out on [INSERT NAME OF ANY OF THEIR TARGETS]' has been the theme of the summer. Dean Huijsen, Liam Delap, Bryan Mbeumo and now, perhaps most worrying of all, Joao Pedro. So why have the club been unable to conclude a deal? Is it to do with PSR (the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules) constraints? Are they spending too long pursuing players who do not want to move to them? Do they have a coherent strategy? The departure of sporting director Paul Mitchell after less than a year at the club has not helped ease the angst. The Athletic looks at the four examples and analyses why Newcastle's window has unfolded in frustrating fashion — and what to expect next. Of the players Newcastle have 'failed' to sign, Huijsen moving to Real Madrid from Bournemouth rightly generated the least hysteria. The 20-year-old was coveted by the biggest clubs in Europe and, while Newcastle pushed hard to acquire the Spain international, there was an acceptance they were always unlikely to lure the centre-back to Tyneside. There are similarities to Newcastle's move for Michael Olise last summer. When the winger was leaving Crystal Palace, the expectation was that he would join an elite outfit — as he did in Bayern Munich — but Newcastle want to put themselves into the frame for quality players. Olise and Huijsen had release clauses — £50million ($68m) for the latter — meaning financially any potential deal felt too enticing to overlook, and Newcastle's pitches to each player were said to have been impressive and well received. Newcastle could have opted against entering the race for Huijsen, given the likelihood was he would head elsewhere, but they are determined to try and compete for the highest quality of player possible within their PSR constraints. Delap was not necessarily a key target. Newcastle rate the 22-year-old and felt he would prove an excellent alternative to Alexander Isak, as well as someone who could play alongside and complement the Sweden striker. But it is not certain that an out-and-out striker joins; instead, a more versatile forward like Joao Pedro, who can play across the frontline, may prove better value given Newcastle's budget. As with Huijsen, Newcastle sensed a potential opportunity. The £30m relegation-release clause in Delap's Ipswich Town contract represented a below-market price for a striker who scored 12 goals in his first full Premier League season — and for a team who went down. The former Manchester City centre-forward chose Chelsea over Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Newcastle, but that late-May decision offered the latter plenty of time to reassess their plans. When Newcastle finalised their list of potential summer recruits, Mbeumo was their top right-sided forward target. The Cameroon international scored 20 and assisted a further seven in the Premier League last season. Coupled with his top-flight experience and ability to provide cover through the middle, it led to confidence he would have an immediate impact by displacing Jacob Murphy or pushing the right winger to new heights. Advertisement Price was always a concern, however, given Mbeumo is 25. He is entering his prime but is a couple of years above the ideal age Newcastle would usually recruit from. At around £50m, they would have been keen to do a deal, though Brentford are seemingly holding out for more than £60m. In the end, Newcastle did not even get to a club-to-club negotiating stage because Mbeumo indicated a preference to join Manchester United in late May. At that stage, Newcastle shifted on to alternative right-wing options, recognising that they should not repeat the month-long and futile pursuit of a target, as occurred with Palace centre-back Marc Guehi last August. Although the circumstances were different — Newcastle did not reach Palace's valuation of Guehi, whereas Mbeumo is set to opt for another club — multiple sources on Tyneside, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, claimed the club could not match the potential financial package Manchester United will offer. The Brazil forward feels like the most consequential player who Newcastle have 'missed out on'. Not necessarily because of his quality — Howe rates him highly, yet supporters appeared split about his reputation and general ability — but because of his unique profile. Newcastle may have tried and failed to sign a right winger pretty much since the takeover occurred in October 2021, but theoretically there are alternatives to Mbeumo — with Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga chief among them — even if the player pool which Howe believes will instantly improve his starting XI is small. With Pedro, he is 23, Premier League-hardened, was available (Brighton & Hove Albion may argue otherwise but eventually sold him), can play across the frontline, and would have been able to compete with as well as complement Isak. Advertisement Finding a forward of similar age, adaptability and experience at an affordable price is going to be difficult. Eintracht Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike, who Newcastle tried to sign in January 2022 and is viewed internally as of a comparable profile, will reportedly command a fee reaching €100m (£86.4m) and he has never played in England. Some fans have equated the Joao Pedro situation to last summer's Guehi saga, suggesting Newcastle pursued a player they were never going to sign and should have switched focus sooner. However, unlike Guehi, this was not about price — Newcastle did have a bid rejected, yet there was a feeling a compromise could be reached — but, as with Mbeumo, Joao Pedro communicated that he favoured a move to Chelsea. Those inside Newcastle contend this was not clear all along and that, initially, Joao Pedro's camp had suggested he was receptive to a transfer to Tyneside. Then, around a fortnight ago, his preference for London emerged, while there have been suggestions, according to sources who were speaking anonymously to protect relationships, he was stung by the manner in which Newcastle pulled out of negotiations to acquire him from Watford in 2022. That is when they pivoted towards signing Isak. Regardless, Newcastle pulled out of negotiations shortly before Chelsea reached an agreement and they have been forced to re-evaluate once more. While there is an insistence they have alternatives to Joao Pedro, the list is said to be small. Although the frustration of supporters is shared internally, there is no sense of panic — which is unlikely to pacify fans understandably impatient for additions following three successive windows without a first-XI signing. Howe is restless for additions, too, and would prefer to be welcoming new players for pre-season training when it begins on Monday. The expectation inside Newcastle is that the market will heat up once players return to their clubs for pre-season — and the hope is that an initial signing with generate momentum for others to follow. Advertisement A goalkeeper, centre-back, right-winger and versatile forward are still wanted. James Trafford is the top goalkeeper target and, while talks continue with Burnley, Newcastle are yet to reach a fee, even if those around the deal have always presented a confidence it will get done. At right wing, Newcastle never strongly pursued Antoine Semenyo due to his valuation, even before the Ghana forward signed a contract extension at Bournemouth. Their interest in Elanga remains, however, following an initial £45m bid being rejected. Guehi is still on their wanted list, too, although there are alternative centre-back options. Where Newcastle turn next, if anywhere at all, in their hunt for a forward is unclear. A first senior signing would help everyone, inside and outside of the club, settle down. There is internal confidence it will come — even if Newcastle are operating without a sporting director following Mitchell's exit on Monday — but, until it does, supporter apprehension will only grow.
New York Times
02-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Jason Ayto, Ross Wilson advance in Newcastle sporting director hiring process
Jason Ayto and Ross Wilson have both held follow-up interviews for the vacant sporting director position at Newcastle United. No final decision has been made, but Ayto, the former Arsenal interim sporting director, and Wilson, Nottingham Forest's chief football officer, have advanced through a process which has been expedited due to Paul Mitchell's exit. Advertisement Mitchell left the club on Monday after less than a year in the role, while Darren Eales, Newcastle's CEO, is serving his notice after being diagnosed with blood cancer. Newcastle are in the final stages of appointing a new chief executive, with former Real Madrid executive David Hopkinson among the leading contenders. Before Mitchell departed, interim responsibility for overseeing transfer deals transitioned to Andy Howe — the assistant head of recruitment and the nephew of Eddie Howe, the head coach — and Steve Nickson, the head of recruitment. The pair are working collaboratively to try and sign players from an Eddie Howe-led transfer list of targets, but Newcastle are yet to unveil a senior addition this summer, having missed out on Brighton & Hove Albion's Joao Pedro to Chelsea and with Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo specifying a preference to join Manchester United instead. With the sporting director having already left and Eales to follow, Newcastle lack a stable senior executive structure and are in a state of flux off the field for a second successive summer. Amanda Staveley departed as co-owner last July and the appointment of Mitchell followed, which initially unsettled Howe. Whereas Howe was not informed of Mitchell's arrival until 24 hours before, the head coach has been made aware of developments at certain stages of the process this time. Ideally, Newcastle would prefer to bring in a chief executive before a sporting director but, should they decide upon the right candidate for the latter, those appointments could be reversed. Ayto and Wilson are certainly prominent among the owners' thoughts, having reached the latter stages. A former scout, Ayto had been with Arsenal for a decade and rose through the ranks to become assistant sporting director under Edu, leading an overhaul and modernisation of the club's recruitment department. When the Brazilian left Arsenal in November 2024, Ayto stepped up to become interim sporting director until the appointment of Andrea Berta. He left the club voluntarily at the end of last season. Advertisement Wilson has worked in senior positions at Southampton, Huddersfield Town, Watford, Falkirk and Rangers, who won their first league title for a decade during his tenure, and reached the Europa League final, before joining Forest in April 2023. Last year, before Mitchell was appointed, then-Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman and current Southampton sporting director Johannes Spors reached the final two for the post at Newcastle. Freedman was subsequently offered the job, but turned Newcastle down, eventually leading to Mitchell's arrival. Newcastle declined to comment on the present ongoing process for hiring a sporting director. (Top photos: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images, Craig Foy / SNS Group via Getty Images)
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
What legacy does Paul Mitchell leave behind at Newcastle?
Paul Mitchell's 12 months as Newcastle United's sporting director can be characterised by blunt words, consequences and contradictions. Mitchell is a straight-talker. Plenty of people inside St James' Park found this no-nonsense approach to be liberating, particularly in a business that has more than its fair share of 'bull**** bingo', as put by one senior figure, who, like others quoted in this piece, was speaking anonymously to protect relationships. Advertisement Initially at least, Eddie Howe reeled back from it. To Newcastle's head coach, Mitchell's candour was a wrecking ball, threatening damage to the 'family atmosphere' created during Amanda Staveley's spell as director and part-owner, where decision-making was intimate and intense. By contrast, Mitchell was all alpha-male swagger. Plenty, too, appreciated Mitchell's easy communication — formal monthly catch-ups with heads of department, but also regular calls and messages, checking in, offering support and trust, allowing those under him the freedom to do their jobs. His 'empowerment' of staff is mentioned frequently. Yet Mitchell's one big public intervention proved disastrous, certainly in terms of perception, when, in an interview with reporters last year, he asked whether Newcastle's recruitment had been 'fit for purpose in the modern game'. It prompted fury among people close to Howe and threatened more destabilisation. Strengths were also weaknesses. On his watch, there were no first-XI signings, described as '90 per cent' of his remit by Darren Eales, the outgoing chief executive, albeit his final fortnight in post brought a flurry of activity, enquiries and bids. Yet with Mitchell transitioning out, this was now orchestrated by Andy Howe, Newcastle's assistant head of recruitment and Eddie's nephew. On Mitchell's watch, there was also everything: Newcastle's first domestic silverware for 70 years and a return to the Champions League after finishing fifth in the Premier League. Some would argue that one happened despite the other, that the Carabao Cup win at Wembley was solely the triumph of Howe and his players. Others insist Mitchell's 'fingerprints are on the trophy', pointing to the arrival of James Bunce as performance manager, the lack of injuries, a willingness to 'push boundaries' in the search for improvement in a landscape now governed by the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Advertisement Frugality in the transfer market — imposed, not willing — meant sustainability became a driving factor of Mitchell's tenure. Players have departed over the past 12 months, weakening Howe's squad, but Newcastle are now a club of winners with the financial strength to go again and with an increasingly professional women's operation. As Mitchell departs, they are healthier… sort of. Ultimately, it is an unfinished story. Mitchell spoke of a three-to-five-year plan but leaves inside one, with no big signings, no new training ground and no multi-club ownership structure established, even if there have been developments on all fronts. The majority of the calls he has made have been strategic, so the fruits may not be apparent for years. If sporting directors are supposed to be 'long-term club and cultural architects', then, like Dan Ashworth before him, Mitchell goes with the building work unfinished and with a sense of uncertainty about what happens next. One top-level source praised Mitchell's impressive staff appointments, his calmness in a high-pressure role, the way he dealt with Newcastle's owners and the sales he made, which have benefited Newcastle's bottom line, yet their overall conclusion is self-evident. 'He was not there long enough to do more,' they said. A narrative emerged in some quarters that the club led Mitchell's exit, yet it was the 43-year-old who decided to leave. Newcastle's owners responded by proposing alternative posts and, according to multiple sources, Mitchell's positive relationship with the hierarchy remains intact. Mitchell viewed his position as intrinsically connected to Eales, who brought him to the club at the start of July and then announced two months later he had been diagnosed with a chronic form of blood cancer. Eales, too, will be leaving soon. The long term quickly became the short term, which is not to say Mitchell has had no impact. One of Mitchell's first and most important acts was to appoint Bunce, and there has been widespread praise for the performance director's impact. Newcastle fielded the joint-second-fewest players (24) and made the second-fewest starting-XI changes (51) in the Premier League across the 2024-25 season. Advertisement Howe's ability to extract so much from a small group was made possible by Newcastle boasting one of the top flight's best injury records — a dramatic improvement on the nadir of the previous campaign — while still producing physical-output figures among the highest in the division, according to their own data. The effectiveness of Bunce's performance operation — any lingering disharmony between departments following the fallout from the previous year's injury crisis was patched up — also had a knock-on effect for Mitchell's attempts to reshape Newcastle's PSR situation. The January sales of Miguel Almiron and Lloyd Kelly for fees that could rise to a combined £31million ($42.5m) created decent headroom for the summer following three successive windows without acquisitions. Another intended consequence of the January sales, from Mitchell's perspective at least, was greater first-team opportunities being granted to academy graduates. Trevan Sanusi made his debut in the FA Cup in January, then Sean Neave, the forward, and Leo Shahar, the right-back, trained full-time with the senior squad from February to cover for the departed Almiron and Kelly. All three youngsters were 17 at the time but have since turned 18. In this landscape of financial limitation, Mitchell accelerated what Newcastle refer to internally as the 'emerging talents' programme. The sales of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson rescued Newcastle from a PSR blackhole a year ago and the hope is that summer signings Antonio Cordero and Vakhtang Salia will bring rewards down the line, either by breaking into the first team or being sold for a profit. Park Seung-soo — should he complete a move from K-League 2 side Suwon Bluewings — also shows the increased worldwide scope for youth recruitment that Mitchell has introduced. Advertisement Mitchell championed the recruitment of talented youngsters down through the age groups, with Newcastle's academy now boasting a record number of internationals, from under-14s through to the under-21s. Just as vitally, Mitchell has recognised that the academy is thriving under Steve Harper's leadership and has provided a platform for the club's former goalkeeper to get on with his job. This was a theme. Another person who worked with Mitchell says, 'I didn't need to ask his permission for everything. It was about keeping him up to date. If he thought something was a crap idea he would tell me, but he was also comfortable with me saying, 'I'm not sure about that'. It was empowerment. He gave me the comfort to know I could just crack on with things. That's a skill.' The growth of Newcastle's women's team has continued under Mitchell, who poured resources into the squad for their first Championship campaign and formed a strong bond with Becky Langley, the manager. A director of performance and recruitment and analysis staff were hired, while the appointment of the club's first standalone women's director of football — Grace Williams is set to arrive from Crystal Palace, as The Athletic revealed last month — is designed to expedite their rise to the Women's Super League. There has been an increased use of data and AI throughout the footballing operation, including how Newcastle identify prospective loan clubs for players or potential recruits from global markets, especially when it comes to playing-style similarities and in the performance and medical departments. There has been a 'huge amount' of preparatory work on the multi-club model, visiting and talking to prospective partners in other countries. Infrastructure investment has also taken place, with Mitchell working closely with Brad Miller, Newcastle's chief operating officer, even if much of the money has been directed towards interim upgrades. Advertisement At their Benton training ground, Newcastle are expanding into the car park, adding 1,350 square metres of office and meeting space. The changing rooms are being renovated at the academy and improvements have been made at Kingston Park, where the women's team play. A state-of-the-art training ground remains a concept, although Mitchell has visited potential sites within the city's boundaries. Much of his focus has been on the potential configuration between the men's and women's teams and the academy, and whether they can be housed within the same or separate venues. Three to five years is the latest soft timescale, though with planning permission yet to be lodged, that may prove ambitious. Those delays cannot be laid at Mitchell's door. Pretty much everybody who works at Newcastle comes to understand the slow pace at which Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), the club's majority owners, reaches its 'process-driven' decisions. 'It takes an eternity to do anything,' one source says. In retrospect, Eales did Mitchell few favours with his '90 per cent recruitment' line. Mitchell's appointment had come as a shock to Eddie Howe, who received little advance notice, and there was immediate pressure on the sporting director to deliver signings after arriving midway through a transfer window. Mitchell did not comprehend the scale of Newcastle's problems with PSR when he took the job, either. 'He inherited a position which was impossible to navigate,' a colleague says. The sales of Anderson and Minteh ensured (marginal) compliance for the previous three-year cycle, but they had not solved the issue. Mitchell spent far longer studying cash-flow models with Simon Capper, the chief financial officer, than he envisaged, having to account for every contract renewal and every transfer decision, from youth to senior recruitment. When Mitchell led an ultimately futile month-long pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi last August — something he later claimed was part of a 'predetermined strategy' — it meant that, beyond the £10m acquisition of William Osula from Sheffield United, he failed to bring in a signing for Howe's squad. Advertisement The summer left Howe bruised. Staveley had been a fervent ally who kept him informed of everything happening at Newcastle. Now he was at arm's length. After the PSR shambles, uncertainty lingered in his dressing room. Mitchell was forthright, brusque, keen to make his mark. 'It was the wrong attitude to come in with,' an associate of Howe told The Athletic recently. 'If the club were really at a low point, then you could understand that idea of changing everything. It didn't need that. It just needed a bit of support.' Their relationship began strained and then eased, albeit the lack of incoming transfer activity meant it was rarely tested. The irony here is that others at Newcastle found Mitchell a far easier man to work with; direct and challenging, yes, but also eager to delegate and offer support. There was no first-XI addition in January, either, though that was signposted from the autumn. Mitchell — with at least some buy-in from Howe — believed Newcastle were better served selling fringe players and bolstering the PSR position, given the unavailability of long-term targets for reasonable fees. The rationale was that this would prevent unwanted sales by June 30, that it would give Newcastle greater ability to resist offers for their key players, such as Alexander Isak, and ensure a (relatively) healthy summer kitty. 'Sustainability' became the buzzword internally, with Mitchell adamant that the 'trading model' required tweaking long-term. What Eales and Mitchell had attempted to communicate during their separate interviews was that while Newcastle had an excellent post-takeover transfer hit record, financially, they had overstretched themselves. The ownership was adamant it could never go three straight trading periods without a first-XI signing again. Extracting a fee rising to £20m for Kelly, who had started only four league games after joining on a free from Bournemouth, underlines Mitchell's negotiating skills. Advertisement As someone close to Mitchell says, the timing of his departure is 'bittersweet'. Newcastle are trophy-winners, a Champions League club with a great manager, a great team and with scope to make a splash in the market. Yet they do not have a sporting director, a new CEO is still to be appointed, and they have not signed a senior player, all of which means the uncertainty of a year ago has returned in a different guise. There are big-picture questions: who sets the strategy? What kind of club do they want to be? Unlike 12 months ago — and, in part because of Mitchell — Newcastle are good to go. Which direction they go in is now somebody else's responsibility.
